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Thank goodness for NFL Network analyst Mike Mayock providing context for the confused and reason for the unreasonable. Thank goodness for Mayock offering serious, sober-as-a-line-judge football insight on the Bears quarterback situation, which too many people have been misled to believe matters more than anything this offseason. Thank goodness Mayock, a highly respected outside observer with no emotional investment or scar tissue, concluded the Bears would be wiser sticking with Jay Cutler than drafting Heisman Trophy winner Marcus Mariota if given the chance with the seventh overall selection. And they would be. Knowns must outnumber unknowns for a new coach learning his roster....

INDIANAPOLIS — At NCAA headquarters, the basketball enthusiasts view Selection Sunday as Christmas morning.
This mock selection exercise would be akin to Thanksgiving.
"So let's eat," says David Worlock, the NCAA point man for this event.
And...

Desmond Bland's toughest challenge while preparing for college doesn't have anything to do with his football skills.
The Homewood-Flossmoor senior offensive lineman is considered a legitimate prospect, but he first must shore up his grades. Bland said he...

A woman who says she was sexually assaulted by three University of Oregon basketball players filed a lawsuit Thursday against the school and head basketball coach Dana Altman.
The suit alleges Altman knew when he recruited Brandon Austin that the...

Heisman Trophy winner Marcus Mariota has declared his eligibility for the NFL draft.
The Ducks quarterback announced on Oregon's website on Wednesday that he would forgo his senior season. The school said he filed paperwork on Wednesday, a day before the...

ARLINGTON, Texas — With gold, black and white confetti raining down all around them, Ohio State players held up copies of a Columbus Dispatch that had been prepared for the occasion.
One side read: BUCKS BAG DUCKS!
The other: NO. 1!
"Believe it,...

WASHINGTON -- President Obama told congressional leaders that having a college football playoff is something everyone can agree upon.
Obama congratulated Ohio State on Tuesday for winning the first College Football Playoff national championship game. The...

DALLAS -- Ohio State quarterback Cardale Jones says he is not ready for the NFL.
In just his third career start, the 22-year-old third-year sophomore helped the Buckeyes beat Oregon 42-20 on Monday night to win the College Football Playoff national...

The talk heading into the inaugural College Football Playoff national championship game was about offense.
Oregon played at the speed of light, with Heisman Trophy winning quarterback Marcus Mariota leading the way. Ohio State was at full speed with...

Buckeyes on offense
Ohio State running game vs. Oregon rush defense
Tailback Ezekiel Elliott now has a signature run — the 85-yard game-breaker against Alabama — to go with his signature look: He tucks his jersey under the pads to show off his...

Oregon wide receiver Darren Carrington and running back Ayele Ford will not play in Monday's national championship game after positive NCAA drug tests, coach Mark Helfrich said Saturday.
Carrington did not travel with the team to Dallas after testing...

The postseason is one "Kokomo Bowl" from becoming the next verse in a Beach Boys song: "Miami, Bahamas, come on pretty mamma, Camellia, and Boca, this is not a joke-a." Four new bowl games plus the extra championship game means the...

Dominic Christian has plans to spread holiday joy to one college coaching staff.
The Hales senior quarterback said he has narrowed his options to Iowa and Nevada.
"I'm going to make my decision on Christmas Eve," Christian said. "I feel...

GLENDALE, Ariz. -- The Boise State Broncos are no longer just trick-play ponies.
They did score a touchdown on a Statue of Liberty play. This was the Fiesta Bowl, so of course they did.
But once the tricks were used up and the offensive fireworks...

For a long time, the Southeastern Conference has been to college football what Shakespeare's Julius Caesar was to ordinary humans: "He doth bestride the narrow world like a Colossus." It often seemed as though it existed on a level all its...

I figured Nebraska athletic director Shawn Eichorst would move quickly. I figured he would hire a sitting head coach.
Why? Because you don’t fire the reasonably successful Bo Pelini if you don’t have an upgrade in mind.
What I didn’t figure — what no...

Minnesota … gone.Wisconsin … jumped by three-loss Mississippi. Michigan State … bypassed by Arizona.The Big Ten took a beating in the opening moments of the weekly College Football Playoff rankings release.But then came a bit of good news: Ohio State...